Andy Osborn #
Introduction #
Andy Osborn is a British Reform UK politician who was elected to Cambridgeshire County Council in May 2025 and, a year later, was convicted of making or publishing a false statement of a candidate’s character under the Representation of the People Act 1983 — a criminal offence — over a Facebook post he wrote during the 2025 campaign. The false claim about Conservative candidate Samantha Hoy was found to have no basis, Osborn’s defence that his account had been hacked was dismissed by the judge, and in April 2026, after failing to lodge an appeal in time, the 74-year-old was disqualified from office and stripped of his county council seat, with a by-election called.
Background Information #
Osborn was chairman of the North East Cambridgeshire Reform Party in April 2025, when the events that ended his career took place, and he stood for the county council in the May 2025 local elections, winning the Roman Bank and Peckover division. He was a councillor with a record of controversies even before the conviction: after his election he was removed from the council’s children and young people committee after telling councillors that some children in care were “not just naughty children, they can be downright evil”, and he was accused of telling Wisbech’s black mayor, Councillor Sidney Imafidon, to “speak English” — which Osborn, who has hearing problems, denied, saying he had told him to “speak clearly”.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
In April 2025, during the run-up to the local elections, Osborn wrote on Facebook: “Samantha Hoy worked in the care industry but allegedly was sacked for fraud no wonder Wisbech is in such a state. Reform UK will fix it.” Hoy, who works in the care industry and has never been sacked or faced fraud allegations, responded online, describing the claims as “an absolute lie and extremely defamatory and damaging”. Publishing a false statement about a candidate’s personal character during an election period is a criminal offence under the Representation of the People Act 1983, and prosecutors charged Osborn over the post. At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Osborn claimed his Facebook account had been hacked, but District Judge Nina Tempia dismissed the explanation and found him guilty of making or publishing a false statement.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
The conviction carried immediate consequences. Osborn was ordered to pay ÂŁ1,800 — a ÂŁ1,000 fine, ÂŁ400 costs and a ÂŁ400 surcharge — and was set to be disqualified from office under the Representation of the People Act, forcing him to stand down from the seat he had held for under a year. After his conviction he sat as an independent and was suspended from the duties of his office, and on 13 May 2026 Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed: “We have now received confirmation from the court that Mr Osborn has not lodged an appeal in time, therefore, he is no longer a county councillor”, announcing a by-election for Roman Bank and Peckover in Fenland. Reform UK held the seat in the resulting by-election by a narrow margin, a result covered as evidence both of the party’s resilience and of the serial embarrassments within its 2025 intake.
Current Status #
Osborn is no longer a county councillor: his conviction stood, his appeal window lapsed, and his disqualification took effect in April 2026, confirmed by the council the following month. The criminal conviction itself — for an electoral offence, not a violent or sexual one — remains on his record, with the fine and surcharge imposed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He had already been serving as an independent after Reform moved against him post-conviction, and no return to elected politics has been reported.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
Osborn’s political career ended not with a lost election but with a judge’s gavel: a Facebook post about a political opponent, written from his position as a Reform branch chairman, produced one of the rare modern convictions under the Representation of the People Act’s false-statement provisions and the loss of the seat it was meant to help win. The case was covered nationally as an example of the discipline problems inside Reform’s 2025 cohort, and alongside his earlier remarks about children in care and the mayor of Wisbech it cemented a reputation that outlasted his tenure. For Samantha Hoy, the vindication came at the cost of the “extremely defamatory and damaging” claim being spread about her during a campaign; for Osborn, a conviction at 74 made his brief council career the footnote of a criminal record.